Beer today, gone tomorrow: Asheville beer happenings Aug. 21-27

Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow is the one-stop home for Asheville-area beer news. Check back throughout the week for updates and send your own to wncbeertoday@gmail.com.

Bottle and can releases

Burial Beer Co. has a double bottle release on Friday, Aug. 24. The Separation of Light and Darkness Mixed Culture Saison Ale (5.5 percent ABV) is made with North Carolina barley and wheat from Riverbend Malt, aged in the brewery’s Brunello foudre and dry-hopped with Mandarina Bavaria and Wakatu. Bottle-conditioned 500-milliliter vessels will be $12. Sword of Crucifixion Golden Sour Ale (8 percent ABV) is a blend of Belgian-style tripels from three different vintages, soured in red wine, bourbon and brandy barrels with mixed cultures for 12 months. It’s available in 500-milliliter bottles, bottle conditioned with sourwood honey for $13 each. Tim Gormley, Burial co-owner and head brewer, and Mark Goodwin, Burial’s head blender, will be at the brewery 5-6 p.m. to pour tastes of both beers and discuss other offerings in the brewery’s sour program.

**NEW** Bhramari Brewing Co. releases Natural Born Farmer (6 percent ABV) on Saturday, Aug. 25, at 11 a.m. The tart farmhouse ale is kettle soured and features an addition of South Carolina peaches and pink peppercorns. It will be available in four-packs of 16-ounce cans and on draft and will see very limited distribution.

Small-batch beers and ciders

In addition to its aforementioned packaged offerings, Burial has two new draft releases this week. A Manifestation of Time Foudre-Aged Vienna Style Lager (5.5 percent ABV), brewed with a 50/50 blend of German pilsner malt and Vienna, fermented cool in stainless and lagered in an oak foudre for three weeks, will be tapped on Wednesday, Aug. 22. The following day brings By Decree of the Goddess Petit Saison Ale (3.8 percent ABV). The table-style saison was brewed in collaboration with Asheville’s Pleb Urban Winery, open fermented using house saison yeast, blended with house mixed culture and naturally carbonated using pear juice.

Catawba Brewing Co. taps a Sahti (6.5 percent ABV) on Thursday, Aug. 23, at all four of its tasting rooms. The rare Finnish-style ancient ale is brewed with four specialty grains and juniper berries. It will be followed the next day by Brut IPA (7.5 percent ABV), a West Coast IPA with a champagne-like character and hopped with Citra, Mosaic and El Dorado, and Cranberry Berliner Weisse (3.1 percent ABV), the latest in the brewery’s series of light, sessionable, fruit-forward kettle sours.

Thirsty Monk Brewery taps two new beers on Friday, Aug. 24, at both of its locations. St. Brutus Brut IPA (7.5 percent ABV) resembles sparkling wine, is dry-hopped with Mandarina Bavaria and Hallertau Blanc and features a late addition of Galena, Centennial and Amarillo hops, while Holy Guava Wit (5 percent ABV) adds guava puree and a small amount of sweet basil to the brewery’s Holy Wit.

Special events

Burial‘s latest Off-Topic event on Friday, Aug. 24, is a celebration of Brewery Bhavana from Raleigh. It starts at 6 p.m., and tickets go on sale at 5:30 p.m. $10 admission at the door includes a branded glass to keep and special beers to share from Brewery Bhavana.

Zillicoah Beer Co. hosts Session Fest on Saturday, Aug. 25, noon-8 p.m. The tokened beer festival, which features a collection of session beers from Asheville-based craft brewery web solution company Craftpeak‘s portfolio, is a fundraiser for local nonprofit Our Voice. VIP and general admission ticket options and a list of participating breweries are available online.

**NEW** Hi-Wire Brewing hosts its annual Oktoberfest on Saturday, Aug. 25, noon-6 p.m. at its Big Top location. A $15 ticket includes a custom Hi-Wire liter stein and one beer fill. Additional Flagship and seasonal liter fill-ups will be $8. Free admission for non-drinkers. Individual and team games include stein hoisting, musical kegs, dizzy obstacle course, grain sack toss and a tricycle race. There will also be a Foothills Local Meats Hot Dog Eating Contest, entry to which is $30 entry with a $200 cash prize for the winner. Register for the Hot Dog Eating contest by emailing meg@foothillslocalmeats.com

About Edwin Arnaudin

Edwin Arnaudin is a staff writer for Mountain Xpress. He also reviews films for ashevillemovies.com and is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) and North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA). Follow me @EdwinArnaudin

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.